Does anyone feed wellness

[Denise L.]

I decided to try the fish and sweet potato just this past weekend 'cause Cyrus has had some issues with funky ears this summer and I thought it would help.

He hates it...he will eat it out of desperation ( I mixed half and half with Canidae) but he isn't happy.

I hate it as it stinks to high holy heaven. It makes me feel sick to my stomach.

So we are heading to the pet store right after work to get more Canidae

[rottnelmo]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lanthier

LOL Then what is the information the claims you are making based on? At what temperature DOES baking destroy the nutrients in food? When we bake foods in our ovens at home are the nutrients destroyed? Why not? Perhaps some more checking and verification is in order before you make such claims in a widely read public venue.

I was wondering were a claim like that came from...because baking is so much better.

Anyways...I feed Wellness Simple Solution Duck to Ollie and he is doing VERY well on it. I agree that it is fairly high in grains, but as long as Ollie does well on it, he will stay on it.

[groupieindenial]

YEs, when we cook our foods, we are only destroying the nutrition in it. ITs a fact, and known that steaming your veggies retain much more of the nutritional value versus if you boiled (or baked) them. There are only a few veggies that are better for you cooked, and thats carrots and tomatoes. I'm not talking out of my rear end. I've recently attended a canine nutrition seminar, and have been picking a friends brain who is currently finishing up her N.D. Baking at 200F doesn't destroy as much, but it all depends on which vitamins, and how long its cooked for. Its not as simple as saying "baking does not destroy nutrients". Minerals are not affected by baking (or cooking).

Regardless, WEllness claims to slow bake at low temperature, but how come they don't say what temperature? How long?

Eagle Pack is one of teh only pet food manufacturers I've heard of stepping up to the plate speaking against these false claims of "quality baking".
http://www.eaglepack.com/pages/pethealth.html#extrude

Quality food that is extruded, is cooked at under 200F, which retains the vitamins. Extruding, also compacts the food, so it is more dense, giving a higher caloric to volume ratio. SO if a company that currently bakes, decided to switch to extruding using the same recipe, they would end up with less density in volume. SO instead of 350 cal/cup, you would end up with something much less.

Trust me, you'll be seeing manufacteres switching back to extruding in time. Baking has been a brillliant marketing tool, with nothing to support its nutritional validitity.

[EmkayN]

I have had Nico on Wellness for as long as I have had him (he is almost 8 months and I got him when he was 8 weeks old). We have had no problems with gas or any other issues mentioned. However, I do agree with all who says that it is expensive.

The breeder had Nico on Wellness and that is what I just stuck with since he was/is doing so well on it.

Hope this helps with your decision!

[Bruce Lanthier]

First, lets try a little common sense. If I bake a chicken at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours it does not destroy the nutrients. Nothing baked in a kitchen in a house or restaurant is baked a 200 degrees or less, yet those foods still remain nutritious. Wellness would hardly rate in the top ten dogs foods by many independent reviewers if it were nutritionally barren as you claim. I believe the Whole Dog Journal ranked Wellness dry food in the top three, but they are in the top ten none the less. I'll certainly believe what they think of the food before I believe you and your friends brain.

To give me a link to eaglepack, who I am sure extrudes their food , is like me giving you a link to Wellness decrying the viability of extruded foods and the excellence of baked foods.

You have given me nothing here that would even come close to implying that baking food destroys it nutrients. Common sense would say, if that were the case, then all the dogs that eat baked foods (Wellness is just one of many baked high quality foods) would be suffering nutritional deficiencies.

No, I don't think I'll trust you OR your friends brain.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by groupieindenial

Quality food that is extruded, is cooked at under 200F, which retains the vitamins. Extruding, also compacts the food, so it is more dense, giving a higher caloric to volume ratio. SO if a company that currently bakes, decided to switch to extruding using the same recipe, they would end up with less density in volume. SO instead of 350 cal/cup, you would end up with something much less.

I'm not talking out of my rear end.

You are making no sense to me, and if you're not talking out your rear end, you must be talking out both sides of your mouth. You are saying that extruded food is more dense and if a baked recipe was extruded instead, it would end up with less density.....

Extruding food does not make it MORE dense, it adds AIR and consequently VOLUME to the food. If you EXPAND the food with AIR, it would REDUCE the calorie count (and the nutrition) per measure in comparison to baked foods.

"Most companies prepare their food by steaming it as quickly as possible, usually less than 3 minutes, then extruding it under extreme pressure through a metal die (A steam extrusion process). This process EXPANDS the food with air creating a uniform shape."

"This extruded food (cooked in a very short time) is usually almost "raw" and requires the addition of what many nutritionists feel are harmful chemical preservatives (Ethoxyquin, BHA, and BHT) to maintain a reasonable product shelf-life."

"Oven-baked foods require 20-25% less food than steam-extruded foods."

http://www.f-r-r.com/intro3.htm

[TracyL]

another ? for everyone.I had called wellness when I first started wyatt on there puppy food about his stool being soft,they said that he would be alright after he got used to it.They also told me that the other dog food company's put a stool hardner in there food does anyone no what this is called( or if it is true)?Wyatt is going to be 11months on the 27,I have him on wellness super5 lamb I started him on that when he was 5months.His stool starts out firm but then it turns mushy.Wonder if this is because of the grain.The other thing is he somtimes will only eat once a day and somtime's he will only eat half it.But he is gaining weight(I really don't think he likes it)I am thinking of changing to canidae.
Thank you for your reply's and thoughts

[Bruce Lanthier]

Perhaps you could try feeding a little less food to your dog. What you describe sounds more like a little too much food than it sounds like a reaction to the food. Overfeeding, even 1/2-1/4 cup of food per feeding, will cause the stool to get mushy as you say and also the dog will not be as hungry at each feeding. Try decreasing the amount by a 1/4 cup per feeding and see what the results are. Give it a week or two.

there is always the option of switching foods and that may not be a bad way to go. Wellness is a good food but it may not be right for your dog. But, regardless of the food you feed, if you give too much it will cause the problems you have described in your post.

[TracyL]

I started feeding him a cup twice a day,your saying to feed a 1/2or 1/4 in the morning and at night.Will that be enough?I think i'll go today and get some canidae and try it.I was just worried about the chicken in it. I have been told if they are going to have allergies it would be with chicken.My aunt has a doberman he was braking out with hives,they were at the vet all the time trying to figure out what was going on.The vet said maybe it was the chicken in the dog food,so she changed to wellness lamb and hasn't had a problem since.Guess I have that in the back of my head,I know not all dogs are the same.
thanks for your info!

[Cheryl Carruthers]

Wellness Food is baked right now, but they are switching that shortly. In the near future the food will half and half, baked and extruded. Also, as Wellness has no Stool hardeners of any kind, over feeding will tend to cause Gas and Diarrhea. Decreasing the amount you are feeding will usually take care of that.

[Bruce Lanthier]

Originally Posted by TracyL

I started feeding him a cup twice a day,your saying to feed a 1/2or 1/4 in the morning and at night.Will that be enough?I think i'll go today and get some canidae and try it.I was just worried about the chicken in it. I have been told if they are going to have allergies it would be with chicken.My aunt has a doberman he was braking out with hives,they were at the vet all the time trying to figure out what was going on.The vet said maybe it was the chicken in the dog food,so she changed to wellness lamb and hasn't had a problem since.Guess I have that in the back of my head,I know not all dogs are the same.
thanks for your info!

I would cut back just a little, perhaps just a little less than what you are giving each feeding now. I wasn't saying to feed 1/2 or 1/4 cup I was saying perhaps cut back by that much. Considering the amount you are feeding now I would cut back just a little, maybe a 1/4 cup overall at first and see how things go.

[TracyL]

Thanks for all of you info.I got a bag of innova to try.I gave wyatt a piece of innova and a piece of wellness he wouldn't take the wellness but he took the innova.The store I went to didn't have canidae.Iam going to try innova and see what happens.(Another question) I have been reading on this form alot of people talking about changing foods every so often.I was thinking about doing that.I know I wouldn't want to eat the same thing day after day,Just wondering how often I could do that.(every six months or every 3 months) I was thinking about innova,canidae and wellness.Does this sound ok?
thank you for your reply's

[debbiej]

If they carry Innova, they may carry Healthwise. my dogs do well on that, and it is made by the same company. Innova is more expensive, and I think it is a little 'rich' in the digestive track as well for some dogs. Hilda had gas and very soft stools on it.

[willmcg]

My dog has a terrible itch and Wellness was suggested(their fish formula). He is 16 weeks and I feed him 3 times a day. Any suggestions on the amt. to give him each feeding? He was on ProPlan and was getting about a cup each meal.